Biology

Physiology

Claydol has a large black body with two small, stubby legs. Claydol has a wide, rounded head with a protrusion on the top and a remarkable, encircling pattern. The pattern consists of a wavy white frame on its circular pink eyes, each with a dot-like pupil and seemingly alternating expressions on each eye with small, beak-like yellow segments between each eye. Claydol's chest has white ring-like patterns with extensions of the design pointing downward and yellow circles in the middle. Claydol’s cannon-like arms are kept close to its body although their tips can be removed by levitating them with psychic power.

Gender differences

Claydol is a genderless species.

Special abilities

In addition to being able to float indefinitely using telekinesis, even sleeping hovering in midair, it also can shoot beams from its cannon-like arms. It is able to keep its floating arms close to its body by use of psychic powers.

Behavior

Claydol is not used to exposure to modern humans, since it was created by ancient people. For this reason, it chooses to reside in places where humans do not usually tread, such as the Sky Pillar and Relic Castle. It uses its psychic powers constantly to its advantage.

Pokédex entries

Claydol, the Clay Doll Pokémon. Claydol is the evolved form of Baltoy. These ancient Pokémon are said to come alive when a mysterious light instilled life into clay creatures created in ancient times. Claydol can fly and are able to fire beams from both arms.

Claydol learns the move Hyper Beam at level 36, a lower level than any other Pokémon capable of learning it by level up.

Origin

Its design is similar to the 遮光器土偶 shakōkidogū - a "spaceman" clay figurine from the Jōmon period of Japanese history. It also seems to look like the Arahabaki, an ancient Japanese god that was worshipped by the Momunofu before the emergence of the Shinto pantheon. The idol was also worshipped by Nagasunehiko, a rebel who was the enemy of the Emperor Jimmu, so he decreed that the Arahabaki was a heretical idol associated with treason. Ironically, Arahabki can now be found commonly in inns all over Japan.

Name origin

Claydol is a combination of clay and idol or doll. It may also involve dreidel, due to Claydol's pronunciation and its pre-evolution Baltoy's similarity to tops.

Nendoll may be a combination of 念 nen (thought), 粘土 nendo (clay), and doll. Nen is found in various compounds having to do with ESP-related phenomena, such as 念写 nensha (spirit-photography) and 念動 nendō (telekinesis).